Wordless Wednesday

Simply Natural Creamery

The kids and I have been having a blast visiting Grandma and Grandpa in eastern North Carolina. We've visited cool playgrounds, eaten great food, and spent some much needed quality time with family. 

I'm always on the lookout for cool adventures and educational experiences for my kids. So when I found a dairy farm that offered tours... and a free sample of ice cream? Easy peasy.

Located in Ayden, NC the Simply Natural Creamery offers farm tours and fresh ice cream in their store. 

At the front of their property is a playground that the kids enjoyed while we waited for our tour guide. We rode behind a large tractor in a covered wagon. For some reason I didn't take any pictures of this part. The tractor takes you out and around the soybean fields as the tour guide tells you the history of the farm, statistics on crop yield, and the process of creating the cow's natural diet.

Then we would around to the baby section. The cows at Simply Natural are allowed to graze and roam freely once they are of age. Until then they are housed in the nursery. James loved scratching their faces and enjoyed their rambunctious kisses. Elizabeth was being a bit grumpy and didn't share the same experience.

The tour continues to a large barn where the cows are fed and have "toys" to enjoy. We sat and watched this cow enjoy her back massage for a bit.

We also were able to tour the inside of the milking facility. Our tour guide explained the various mechanisms that quickly milk the cows. From there we moved to watch the milk being put into bottles and loaded into crates in their processing facility.

The kids loved the cows and were especially thrilled with chocolate ice cream at the end! The staff were fantastic and we enjoyed the tour. If you are ever in the area, we highly recommend Simply Natural Creamery... or at the very least stop in for some delicious, natural ice cream.

Live Oak Canyon Fall Festival

Ahhh, my favorite time of the year. This year we decided to go down the mountain to Live Oak Canyon Adventure Farm and their annual Pumpkin Patch and Fall Festival. We met up with some friends and enjoyed a perfect day in southern California.

The farm is about an hour and a half from the Hi-Desert area in Yucaipa, CA. The Yucaipa Valley was home to the Serrano Indians for hundreds of years. It's a beautiful area nestled in the San Bernadino Mountains.

The kids marveled at the different shapes, textures, and colors of pumpkins.

They offer an enormous petting zoo filled with goats and sheep. Other farm animals were also on display and available to pet.

There is a whole section devoted to birds that included chickens, roosters, peacocks, pheasants, roadrunners, and more.

We spent a good chunk of time at the carnival. They have forty or more rides and attractions, games, and bouncy areas. The biggest draw was a giant corn pit. Yep, corn pit.

Getting buried in corn!

They have lots of areas set up for fall pictures with different landscapes and props.

The last thing we definitely wanted to try was the corn maze. This one is well done with lots of turns and dead ends. We played follow the leader and had a blast exploring the maze. Bonus! It wore the kiddos out running!

While they do have many pumpkins picked and sorted for purchase, you can also walk through the fields and pick your own. 

It was a fantastic day! We all had a blast and will definitely go back for their Christmas light show. Everything was well done, clean and organized. Happy Fall!

First Haircut!

Because we just have to document the firsts of everything that our children do or accomplish. :p

Okonomiyaki and Japanese Ice Cream

One area of Los Angeles that we've ventured into a little bit is Little Tokyo. We've really missed the amazing food from Japan; one of those being Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki. Layers of cabbage, pork, egg, soba noodles, and more... YUM!

We have looked for okonomiyaki restaurants in large cities before so while driving to this one we were cautious about getting our hopes up.

Until we saw the sign outside....

This is it! YES! No pretend-sorta-almost-not-really-okonomiyaki! We're going to have the good stuff again!

And the kiddos loved it! We purchased okonomiyaki sauce and Japanese mayonnaise so I can make them at home, but it was great to share a little piece of our Japanese food love with James and Elizabeth.

After strolling through Little Tokyo and playing on some rocks, we decided the night needed a sweet ending. James and Elizabeth loved the ice cream but weren't interested in trying some of the more "Japanese" flavors. Salt ice cream, anyone? 

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Mud Slides

It doesn't rain often in the desert, but when it does it creates BIG problems.

Interestingly though, the county removes it with a snow plow. Yep, just scrapes the heavy wet, mud to the side of the road.

Nevada State Railroad Museum

When you have a little boy who likes trains.... you visit a lot of train depots and museums. While we were in Las Vegas and visiting the Hoover Dam, we made a detour for this little excursion. The museum and parked trains are located in Boulder City, Nevada; the city that built the Hoover Dam. (Seriously, this city was created to develop and build the man-made wonder. Worth a Wikipedia read.)

The museum is smaller and they only offer train rides on certain days; however, there is an in depth review of the U.S. mail system, mail cars, and couriers that was fascinating. Truly worth the stop.

"Feeding my Pet!"

I am so fortunate to be able to stay at home with my children. I have struggled with my personal identity a bit and truly miss my career, but I am thankful every day for this time. Some days are crazy and frustrating... and some days I am told to "go away, mommy! I'm feeding my pet!"

Wordless Wednesday

First Dentist

They did amazingly well! James was super excited to sit in the special chair and wear the sunglasses. Elizabeth... less so, but still followed directions perfectly. Even better? Our dentist still has all his fingers! :)

Squeek!

We have an unwanted guest in our garage!

Kingdom Hearts Symphony

For Dustin's birthday I surprised him with tickets to the Kingdom Hearts symphony in Los Angeles. We both have enjoyed the video game franchise, but the real hook was the music. Listening to some of my favorite arrangements from Yoko Shimomura... and I can hear them live? More like a gift for myself. :)

Even better? SHE WAS THERE! AND SHE PLAYED FOR US! The concert was timed with the launching of E3 so the hall was packed, tears were flowing, excitement buzzing... EEEK! It was truly an amazing night.

Picnic

If you haven't noticed, a common theme on our blog is food. We love to eat and try new things. The kids love to eat... not so much on the try new things part. There are hundreds of parenting books out there that say to make food fun and that's the key to getting your children to try new things. I'm all for cute shapes, teddy bear rice, and the like.... I just don't usually have time to create these Pinterest/Instagram worthy plates for my picky eaters. 

So instead we do picnics. Yep, genius, right?

I even do a little bargaining if there is a playground involved. 

The desert does have some pretty fantastic weather. We enjoy picnics once or twice a week. When Daddy is at work, we sometimes take the picnic to him. I'm always looking for tips on getting my kids to try more foods!

San Diego

We made a quick trip down to San Diego so Dustin could attend a friend's graduation ceremony. 

Somehow through the entire weekend in San Diego we took exactly two pictures.

I'm not sure why we didn't take any at the graduation or at dinner where we met friends we hadn't seen since Japan. Forgive us, we forgot how to blog.

Camping in Joshua Tree National Park

The weather is starting to get warmer here in the desert but we haven't quite hit that "it's too hot to do anything" point. We live right outside Joshua Tree National Park and have talked about taking the kids camping many times. The weather this particular weekend was not ideal, it was super windy!

We moved the car to block some of the wind. Unfortunately, I didn't take too many pictures this weekend. We both put our phones away and spent most the time together.... battling the wind!

James and Elizabeth loved roasting hot dogs on the fire. They were less impressed with s'mores, and more impressed with eating all the chocolate.

The best part of the night was seeing the stars. I've never seen so many stars in my life. Truly fascinating. We bundled up in our sleeping bags and cuddled in the tent to sleep, well fed and happy.

The wind calmed down through the night and we were able to enjoy a great breakfast before doing a short hike nearby. Then we explored a bit of the nature center before packing up and driving home. IT was a great weekend and a wonderful chance to unwind.